Marlins' Pitching Struggles
Like the Braves, the Marlins have had their share of pitching struggles this year. However, Marlins pitcher Sandy Alcantara, the reigning NL Cy Young award winner from 2022, has been struggling this year. In 2023, Sandy Alcantara has put up a 5.07 ERA and is 2-5 as a starter. That is much worse than his Cy Young winning season in 2022, where he recorded a 2.28 ERA and went 14-9 as a starter. In addition, he has posted a 6.43 ERA in his last seven games. Obviously, its has not looking too good for the Marlins pitcher.
While the Marlins aren't the worst pitching team in the league, they definitely have their struggles. As a team, the Marlins have posted a 4.16 ERA, which ranks 15th in the league. In Friday night's game against the White Sox, Marlins starting pitcher Dylan Floro finished with a 4.50 ERA, giving up two hits, a run, while also recording one walk and one strikeout each in the 1-2 loss. It seems like pitching has been a problem with the Marlins, much like it has been with the Braves' bullpen recently. Teams with solid hitting power would take advantage of this, which brings us to our last reason.
Braves' Hitting Power
The Braves offense has been on fire recently. The Braves rank second in the league in batting average, posting a combined .264. They trail only the Texas Rangers, who they beat in a earlier series this season, taking two-of-three. In the NL East, the Braves hot offense eclipses every other opponent, including the Marlins. The Braves currenlty have a run differential of +71. Meanwhile, the Marlins have a run differential of -25, despite being 4.5 games out from the division lead. That is a pretty huge difference between two teams at the top of the division.
Meanwhile, the Braves have also had some of the best hitters in the league. Ronald Acuña Jr currently leads the team in batting average (.327), OBP (.401), and hits (83). Acuña's batting average ranks third in the league, and him Luis Arraez are part of a tight race for NL MVP. In addition to Acuña's hitting power, Matt Olson, despite his recent slump, leads the Braves in home runs (17) and RBI's (43). Olson's 17 home runs is also tied for fourth in the league. This Braves offense should be pretty powerful against a Marlins team with holes at defense and pitching.